Ask Mr. Smarty Plants

Bringing Non-native Cannas out of Winter Storage

QUESTION: Mr. Smarty Plants - Is it possible to force canna tubers? Would placing them on a heating pad help? I am in Ohio -
zone 5.
Thank you

ANSWER:

First of all, a word from our sponsor: The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center is committed to the use, care and propagation of plants native not only to North America but to the area in which they are being grown. The only cannas native to the United States are Canna glauca (maraca amarilla) and Canna flaccida (bandanna of the Everglades). Canna indica is native to Central and South America and most of the other cannas are grouped under the name Canna x generalis, so extensively hybridized that there is no telling what the parents of a particular plant were or what their general characteristics will be. Both being hybridized and being non-native put them out of our range of expertise. This previous Mr Smarty Plants answer has this quote and a bit more information on Canna’s.

OK – Having established that we have little expertise on Canna’s and having shown you some excellent alternatives, perhaps we should actually address your question. It appears, like for many other bulbs or rhizomes, that it is a pretty standard practice to dig up the Canna rhizomes and store them for the winter. I’m assuming when you use the word “force” that you mean starting their growth early in your storage so it can be well on its way for planting when frost is not likely anymore. Here is a web posting from Garden Guides on storing Canna Tubers describing a technique for this. While checking this out, I found a full-fledged Canna Forum on Garden Web. There were postings there on both Winterizing Canna, and on bringing the Cannas out of winter storage. It does look like from these discussions that a little bit of water, some light and maybe heat will get them going early!